Workers of the UAW pictured during the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-1937

Workers used the technique of the sit-down strike since the beginning of the 20th 
century, not only in the United States, but also in Italy, Poland, Yugoslavia, and
France. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were the first American union 
to use the sit-down strike. On December 10, 1906, at the General Electric Workers 
in Schenectady, New York, 3,000 workers sat down on the job and stopped plant 
production to protest the dismissal of three fellow IWW members.

The United Auto Workers staged successful sit-down strikes in the 1930s, best
remembered is the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-1937. The U.S. Supreme Court 
outlawed sit-down strikes on February 27, 1939.

1935

Form letter that non-striking GM workers mailed to President Roosevelt in 1937